Something has reared its ugly head recently, and I need Action Line to look into it. To avoid a crisis in the city sewer system, the public is being asked to dispose of used baby wipes in a safe and considerate manner; used baby wipes should not be flushed down the toilet because they wrap themselves around the impellers of our sewer pumps. The city needs Action Line to help get the word out. Only you can wipe out baby-wipe abuse. – Ron LeBlanc, city manager
As your Monday muckraker, Action Line will make it his No. 1 and No. 2 priorities to keep our sewers ship-shape.
But before we take a deep dive into this icky issue, a little background is needed.
A little over a week ago, the city issued a news release, “Wipes Wreak Havoc on City Sewer Services.”
For some reason, more and more Durangoans are using so-called “flushable wipes.”
But there’s a problem: The wipes don’t dissolve in water like toilet paper.
Labeling wipes as “flushable” is like calling plastic army men or keys “flushable.” Ask any parent about that one.
Anyway, the news release talks about how crews are finding an increasing number of clogs during their daily inspections.
When wipes wrap around a lift-station pump, it could burn out the motor, costing us taxpayers $16,000 to replace.
The city has 18 lift stations. Each has two motors. Do the math.
And even if the pump is OK, it can take two or three workers a couple hours to cut out the wipes and reinstall the pump.
If you have ever been boating and had a ski rope or fishing line wrapped around the propeller, you have an idea of what’s going on.
So, the city is politely begging the Great Washed Masses to stop flushing “flushables.” It’s wasting time and money and now newsprint and ink.
It’s fine to use wipes. Just place them in the trash. By trash, we mean trash – not the single-stream recycling carts. Seriously. This also has occurred.
What the city’s sanitation proclamation fails to mention is the problem of grease.
Not only are people flushing cloth wipes, they are also pouring fats and oils down the drain, according to our good friend Steve Salka, the city’s utilities director.
Grease might be a liquid at the sink, but in the cool confines of the underground sewer, grease congeals.
And when it encounters an absorbent wipe, there’s a love connection. The fat hardens, attracting more fat and more wipes. Soon you have a nasty clog.
“About a month ago, we pulled out 300 pounds of fat from the Main Avenue sewer,” Steve said. “When grease and wipes mix, it turns into a brick.”
Durango’s lard lump is nothing compared to a situation in London last August, when a 15-ton “fatberg” the size of a double-decker bus had to be cut up and removed. By hand. Ick.
So now that Action Line has thoroughly ruined your morning, let’s please give our 120-mile aging sewer system the respect it deserves.
No wipes. No grease. It couldn’t be simpler.
Voluntary measures are the best. If not, we run the risk of reawakening the City Council’s activist alter-ego.
You can see this one coming: Ban the Wipe.
First, the council will pass an ordinance requiring a 10-cent “fee” on every wipe sold by large food stores. Smaller retailers will be exempted.
Five cents will go to grocers for administration, while the city takes the other five cents for education, sewer cleanup and a website.
Many will insist that the Wipe Fee is really a tax.
Meanwhile, the city will encourage residents to bring their own reusable wipes. Opponents will point out that reusable wipes are prone to diseases, like E. coli.
There will be heated meetings, angry letters and eventually the Wipe Fee/Tax will be wiped out by a vote of the people.
So, let’s not go down that road again. Be a sewer steward.
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you knew that consumers spent $6 billion on wipes last year.
